Reaching back at the Rune"s mansion, Warren stayed for an hour to talk with his cousin before departing to the Lawson"s residence. Heidi, having no appet.i.te to eat, politely told the head butler that she wouldn"t be able to join the table for dinner and would prefer to go to bed early as she was tired. Being invited by one of Lady Venetia"s close relative and trying to make sure she didn"t do or say anything to offend anyone, she had stayed quiet while tagging with Warren the entire time. Back at Woville she wished to have a life where she could live like the higher society of ladies but now she realized how wrong her thoughts were. It was exhausting to travel, meet and greet people every single or alternate day of the week. It was a mundane process.

Turning to the left side of her bed where she could see the sky, she breathed softly. Pulling the blanket up to her neck she closed her eyes in hope of sleeping off the exhaustion but she couldn"t. Heidi could"t get rid of the image she had seen at the Meyers mansion. The stench of blood and the human body that had only begun to decompose, giving it a rotten smell. It brought uncomfortable memories which was hidden deep in her mind. Even in this quiet night, she could hear the woman"s cry echoing in her head as her the guardsman pulled the woman"s hair before pluming it against the walls. The voice got louder and louder until Heidi opened her eyes wide to stop the images that were trying to surface.

Why would someone kill a person so gruesomely to the point where no one could recognize the person"s face. Was it to inflict fear? But why? thought Heidi, sitting up on her bed. And who was the boy Lord Nicholas had mentioned before leaving the Meyers mansion. The council members had involved with themselves in the case but Nicholas did his own work in the backend. Rhys Meyers was a dear friend of Lord Nicholas and with that note, the lord had sent his dogs like wolves which were trained to pick up scent so that the culprit could be caught while also standing as guard.

Leaning forward towards the night stand, she stretched her arm to pick the gla.s.s of water. Before she could take a sip, her eyes fell outside the closed windows of her room where the curtains had been drawn back. At first she saw nothing; the leaves rustling in the wind until something or someone moved in the shadow, she felt her heart leap out of her throat. Scrambling away from her bed, she held her breath while trying to see if someone was really out there. Gulping and taking a brave step forward she continued to walk to stand in front of the closed window. Finding nothing out there she drew the curtains close. There was nothing to be afraid of, Heidi told herself. With the servants, the butler and the lord in the mansion she had nothing to be worried about.

The following nights turned out to be the same, with the murder mystery which was unsolved and the day of her engagement approaching close, Heidi felt herself to be restless. As unwilling her heart was on getting engaged to Warren who was not who held her heart, she still went through the process of getting things ready for their wedding-clothes, jewelry. No matter how much she had tried to turn things around it seemed to be useless.

Every time she caught sight of the lord, her heart would soar and fly, trying to go to him and she found it hard to hold back her growing feelings for him. She found it to be ridiculous. Out of all the men, she had fallen for one whom she shouldn"t have and couldn"t dare to dream of, yet she did. Understanding that it wasn"t something that could vanish overnight, she indulged herself in the sweet and p.r.i.c.kly pain. Telling herself that her feelings would eventually change like the seasons.

"I am dropping from the game," lady Margery spoke next to Venetia, closing her cards to place it on the table.

"That is very quick, Margery. Looks like this game is going to be mine," Venetia chuckled, drawing a card from the pack and replacing it with the one she didn"t want.

"Looks like it," replied lady Margery.

Heidi had been called to one of Warren"s uncle house along with Venetia and the others to spend time by playing a pack of card called rum. She was happy for the existence of cards as she wouldn"t have known what to do if she had to sit through another meeting with only listening to people boast about themselves.

"What about you Heidi? You haven"t dropped your card yet. I hope you aren"t dropping the game too," Agnes, who was a third cousin to Warren and Lord Nicholas said sitting across her. She was a vampire like her parents who were normal vampires. She appeared to be in her early thirties, her red wavy hair tied up into a high pony which cascaded down her shoulder to go past her hips.

Going through her cards, Heidi made the decision to throw the card from her hands on the table with a smile. When the game was finally called by Heidi she hid the smile that threatened to bubble up her lips. The woman named Blois whom she had met at the Lawson"s mansion was at the game table too. Having a superiority complex, it didn"t sit well when the girl won the game. Blois turned around to be more hostile when it came to speak to Heidi which the girl brushed away like it was nothing.

"You are very good at this," Agnes commented from her seat. Picking the blood filled gla.s.s which was scented in her hand when the servant came in the garden to serve them drinks, "Who taught you? Is it your brother?" she asked.

"He did," Heidi nodded her head before going to look back at her cards even though it wasn"t her turn yet.

It was a lie that Daniel had taught her how to play. She didn"t think they would take it well if she told the truth that she learnt to play the game rum from the streets of her town where men often sat outside the pub houses playing and betting on any and everything.

"Aren"t Warren and Heidi getting engaged next month? Have you looked into all the preparations?" Margery turned to ask Venetia in concern.

"Everything has been prepared. With the council members trying to get it through, they have taken most of the responsibility in the ceremony. It is an important day after all. And then there"s Nicholas watching over this entire ordeal that is going to take place. Truthfully, I have very little to do," Venetia said, smiling at sister-in-law Margery.

"Is he now," the woman asked pursing her lips, "In the beginning I didn"t understand how the council could send the girl there alone. I mean no mother or sister to accompany but it is good to hear that he is only looking over the girl because the head council asked him. He is thick blooded after all," some of the woman nodded their head while Heidi wondered if the term "thick skinned" was replaced as thick blooded here.

"I know, what you mean! We were all so worried," another relative spoke, her words holding hidden contempt, making her dress proper after crossing her legs, "People never change. The blood is what flows."

"With what I see, there"s nothing to be worried about," Agnes added her words seriously and then looked at Heidi, dropping the serious expression to smile at the young girl, "Heidi, I hope you look after Warren well. He might be a little slow but he is a good man."

"I will," Heidi forced a smile on her lips.

"That is true. Everything is going to work well," Venetia raised her gla.s.s and the others did the same before drinking the blood in it and in Heidi"s case, it was water.